to Parkman's good offices that he owed his appointment as a Professor at
Harvard; they had entered the University as under-graduates in the same
year. Up to 1847 Webster had repaid Parkman twenty pounds of his debt;
but, in that year he found it necessary to raise a further loan of L490,
which was subscribed by a few friends, among them Parkman himself. As
a security for the repayment of this loan, the professor executed a
mortgage on his valuable collection of minerals in favour of Parkman.
In the April of 1848 the Professor's financial difficulties became so
serious that he was threatened with an execution in his house. In this
predicament he went to a Mr. Shaw, Dr. Parkman's brother-in-law, and
begged a loan of L240, offering him as security a bill of sale on the
collection of minerals, which he had already mortgaged to Parkman. Shaw
accepted the security, and lent the money. Shaw would seem to have had
a good deal of sympathy with Webster's embarrassments; he considered the
Professor's income very inadequate to his position, and showed himself
quite ready at a later period to waive his debt altogether.
Dr. Parkman was a less easy-going creditor. Forbearing and patient as
long as he was dealt with fairly, he was merciless where he thought
he detected trickery or evasion. His forbearance and his patience were
utterly exhausted, his anger and indignation strongly aroused, when he
learnt from Shaw that Webster had given him as security for his debt
a bill of sale on the collection of minerals, already mortgaged to
himself. From the moment of the discovery of this act of dishonesty
on the part of Webster, Parkman pursued his debtor with unrelenting
severity.
He threatened him with an action at law; he said openly that he was
neither an honourable, honest, nor upright man; he tried to appropriate
to the payment of his debt the fees for lectures which Mr. Pettee,
Webster's agent, collected on the Professor's behalf. He even visited
Webster in his lecture-room and sat glaring at him in the front row
of seats, while the Professor was striving under these somewhat
unfavourable conditions to impart instruction to his pupils--a
proceeding which the Doctor's odd cast of features must have aggravated
in no small degree.
It was early in November that Parkman adopted these aggressive tactics.
On the 19th of that month Webster and the janitor of the College,
Ephraim Littlefield, were working in the upper laboratory. It was dark;
they had lit candles. Webster was reading a chemical book. As he looked
up from the book he saw Parkman standing in the doorway leading from
the lecture-room. "Dr. Webster, are you ready for me to-night?" asked
Parkman. "No," replied the other, "I am not ready to-night." After a
little further conversation in regard to the mortgage, Parkman departed
with the ominous remark, "Doctor, something must be done to-morrow."
Unfortunately the Professor was not in a position to do anything. He had
no means sufficient to meet his creditor's demands; and that creditor
was unrelenting. On the 22nd Parkman rode into Cambridge, where Webster
lived, to press him further, but failed to find him. Webster's patience,
none too great at any time, was being sorely tried. To whom could
he turn? What further resource was open to him? There was none. He
determined to see his creditor once more. At 8 o'clock on the morning
of Friday the 23rd, Webster called at Dr. Parkman's house and made the
appointment for their meeting at the Medical College at half-past
one, to which the Doctor had been seen hastening just before his
disappearance. At nine o'clock the same morning Pettee, the agent, had
called on the Professor at the College and paid him by cheque a balance
of L28 due on his lecture tickets, informing him at the same time that,
owing to the trouble with Dr. Parkman, he must decline to receive any
further sums of money on his behalf. Webster replied that Parkman was
a nervous, excitable man, subject to mental aberrations, but he added,
"You will have no further trouble with Dr. Parkman, for I have settled
with him." It is difficult to see how the Professor could have settled,
or proposed to settle, with his creditor on that day. A balance of L28
at his bank, and the L18 which Mr. Pettee had paid to him that morning,
represented the sum of Professor Webster's fortune on Friday, November
23, 1849.
Since the afternoon of that day the search for the missing Parkman had
been unremitting. On the Saturday his friends communicated with the
police. On Sunday hand-bills were issued stating the fact of the
Doctor's disappearance, and on Monday, the 26th, a description and
the offer of a considerable reward for the discovery of his body were
circulated both in and out of the city. Two days later a further reward
was offered. But these efforts were fruitless. The only person who gave
any information beyond that afforded by those who had seen the Doctor in
the streets on the morning of his disappearance, was Professor Webster.
About four o'clock on the Sunday afternoon the Professor called at the
house of the Revd. Francis Parkman, the Doctor's brother. They were
intimate friends. Webster had for a time attended Parkman's chapel; and
Mr. Parkman had baptised the Professor's grand-daughter. On this Sunday
afternoon Mr. Parkman could not help remarking Webster's peculiar
manner. With a bare greeting and no expression of condolence with the
family's distress, his visitor entered abruptly and nervously on the
object of his errand. He had called, he said, to tell Mr. Parkman that
he had seen his brother at the Medical College on Friday afternoon, that
he had paid him L90 which he owed him, and that the Doctor had in the
course of their interview taken out a paper and dashed his pen
through it, presumably as an acknowledgment of the liquidation of the
Professor's debt. Having communicated this intelligence to the somewhat
astonished gentleman, Webster left him as abruptly as he had come.
Another relative of Dr. Parkman, his nephew, Mr. Parkman Blake, in the
course of inquiries as to his uncle's fate, thought it right to see
Webster. Accordingly he went to the college on Monday, the 26th, about
eleven o'clock in the morning. Though not one of his lecture days, the
janitor Littlefield informed him that the Professor was in his room. The
door of the lecture-room, however, was found to be locked, and it was
only after considerable delay that Mr. Blake gained admittance. As he
descended the steps to the floor of the lecture-room Webster, dressed in
a working suit of blue overalls and wearing on his head a smoking cap,
came in from the back door. Instead of advancing to greet his visitor,
he stood fixed to the spot, and waited, as if defensively, for Mr.
Blake to speak. In answer to Mr. Blake's questions Webster described
his interview with Dr. Parkman on the Friday afternoon. He gave a
very similar account of it to that he had already given to Mr. Francis
Parkman. He added that at the end of their interview he had asked the
Doctor for the return of the mortgage, to which the latter had replied,
"I haven't it with me, but I will see it is properly cancelled." Mr.
Blake asked Webster if he could recollect in what form of money it
was that he had paid Dr. Parkman. Webster answered that he could only
recollect a bill of L20 on the New Zealand Bank: pressed on this point,
he seemed to rather avoid any further inquiries. Mr. Blake left him,
dissatisfied with the result of his visit.
One particular in Webster's statement was unquestionably strange, if
not incredible. He had, he said, paid Parkman a sum of L90, which he
had given him personally, and represented the Doctor as having at their
interview promised to cancel the mortgage on the collection of minerals
which Webster had given as security for the loan of L490 that had been
subscribed by Parkman and four of his friends. Now L120 of this loan
was still owing. If Webster's statement were true, Parkman had a perfect
right to cancel Webster's personal debt to himself; but he had no right
to cancel entirely the mortgage on the minerals, so long as money due to
others on that mortgage was yet unpaid. Was it conceivable that one so
strict and scrupulous in all monetary transactions as Parkman would have
settled his own personal claim, and then sacrificed in so discreditable
a manner the claims of others, for the satisfaction of which he had made
himself responsible?
There was yet another singular circumstance. On Saturday, the 24th, the
day after his settlement with Parkman, Webster paid into his own account
at the Charles River Bank the cheque for L18, lecture fees, handed
over to him by the agent Pettee just before Dr. Parkman's visit on the
Friday. This sum had not apparently gone towards the making up of the
L90, which Webster said that he had paid to Parkman that day. The
means by which Webster had been enabled to settle this debt became more
mysterious than ever.
On Tuesday, November 27, the Professor received three other visitors in
his lecture-room. These were police officers who, in the course of
their search for the missing man, felt it their duty to examine, however
perfunctorily, the Medical College. With apologies to the Professor,
they passed through his lecture room to the laboratory at the back,
and from thence, down the private stairs, past a privy, into the lower
laboratory. As they passed the privy one of the officers asked what
place it was. "Dr. Webster's private lavatory," replied the janitor, who
was conducting them. At that moment Webster's voice called them away
to examine the store-room in the lower laboratory, and after a cursory
examination the officers departed.
The janitor, Ephraim Littlefield, did not take the opportunity afforded
him by the visit of the police officers to impart to them the feelings
of uneasiness; which the conduct of Professor Webster during the last
three days had excited in his breast. There were circumstances in the
Professor's behaviour which could not fail to attract the attention of
a man, whose business throughout the day was to dust and sweep
the College, light the fires and overlook generally the order and
cleanliness of the building.
Littlefield, it will be remembered, had seen Dr. Parkman on the Monday
before his disappearance, when he visited Webster at the College, and
been present at the interview, in the course of which the Doctor told
Webster that "something must be done." That Monday morning Webster asked
Littlefield a number of questions about the dissecting-room vault, which
was situated just outside the door of the lower laboratory. He asked
how it was built, whether a light could be put into it, and how it was
reached for the purpose of repair. On the following Thursday, the day
before Parkman's disappearance, the Professor told Littlefield to get
him a pint of blood from the Massachusetts Hospital; he said that
he wanted it for an experiment. On the morning of Friday, the day of
Parkman's disappearance, Littlefield informed the Professor that he had
been unsuccessful in his efforts to get the blood, as they had not been
bleeding anyone lately at the hospital. The same morning Littlefield
found to his surprise a sledge-hammer behind the door of the Professor's
back room; he presumed that it had been left there by masons, and took
it down to the lower laboratory. This sledge-hammer Littlefield never
saw again. About a quarter to two that afternoon Littlefield, standing
at the front door, after his dinner, saw Dr. Parkman coming towards
the College. At two o'clock Littlefield went up to Dr. Oliver Wendell
Holmes' room, immediately above Professor Webster's, to help the Doctor
to clear his table after his lecture, which was the last delivered that
day. About a quarter of an hour later he let Dr. Holmes out, locked the
front door and began to clear out the stoves in the other lecture-rooms.
When he reached Webster's he was surprised to find that both doors, that
of the lecture room and that of the lower laboratory, were either locked
or bolted. He could hear nothing but the running of water in one of the
sinks. About half-past five Littlefield saw the Professor coming down
the back stairs with a lighted candle in his hand. Webster blew out the
candle and left the building. Late that night Littlefield again tried
the Professor's doors; they were still fastened. The janitor was
surprised at this, as he had never known such a thing to happen before.
On Saturday, the 24th, though not lecturing that day, the Professor came
to the College in the morning. He told Littlefield to light the stove
in the lower laboratory. When Littlefield made to pass from the
lecture-room into the Professor's private room at the back, and so down
by the private stairs to the lower laboratory, the Professor stopped him
and told him to go round by the door in front of the building. The whole
of that day and Sunday, the Professor's doors remained fast. On Sunday
evening at sunset Littlefield, who was talking with a friend in North
Grove Street, the street that faces the College, was accosted by
Webster. The Professor asked him if he recollected Parkman's visit
to the College on Friday, the 23rd, and, on his replying in the
affirmative, the Professor described to him their interview and the
repayment of his debt. Littlefield was struck during their conversation
by the uneasiness of the Professor's bearing; contrary to his habit he
seemed unable to look him in the face, his manner was confused, his face
pale.
During the whole of Monday, except for a visit from Mr. Parkman Blake,
Professor Webster was again locked alone in his laboratory. Neither
that night, nor early Tuesday morning, could Littlefield get into
the Professor's rooms to perform his customary duties. On Tuesday the
Professor lectured at twelve o'clock, and later received the visit of
the police officers that has been described already. At four o'clock
that afternoon, the Professor's bell rang. Littlefield answered it.
The Professor asked the janitor whether he had bought his turkey for
Thanksgiving Day, which was on the following Thursday. Littlefield said
that he had not done so yet. Webster then handed him an order on his
provision dealer. "Take that," he said, "and get a nice turkey; perhaps
I shall want you to do some odd jobs for me." Littlefield thanked him,
and said that he would be glad to do anything for him that he could. The
janitor was the more surprised at Webster's generosity on this occasion,
as this turkey was the first present he had received at the Professor's
hands during the seven years he had worked in the College. Littlefield
saw the Professor again about half-past six that evening as the latter
was leaving the College. The janitor asked him if he wanted any more
fires lighted in his rooms, because owing to the holidays there were
to be no further lectures that week. Webster said that he did not, and
asked Littlefield whether he were a freemason. The janitor said "Yes,"
and with that they parted.
Littlefield was curious. The mysterious activity of the Professor of
Chemistry seemed to him more than unusual. His perplexity was increased
on the following day. Though on account of the holidays all work had
been suspended at the College for the remainder of the week, Webster was
again busy in his room early Wednesday morning. Littlefield could hear
him moving about. In vain did the janitor look through the keyhole, bore
a hole in the door, peep under it; all he could get was a sight of the
Professor's feet moving about the laboratory. Perplexity gave way to
apprehension when in the course of the afternoon Littlefield discovered
that the outer wall of the lower laboratory was so hot that he could
hardly bear to place his hand on it. On the outer side of this wall was
a furnace sometimes used by the Professor in his chemical experiments.
How came it to be so heated? The Professor had told Littlefield on
Tuesday that he should not be requiring any fires during the remainder
of the week.
The janitor determined to resolve his suspicions. He climbed up to the
back windows of the lower laboratory, found one of them unfastened, and
let himself in. But, beyond evidences of the considerable fires that had
been kept burning during the last few days, Littlefield saw nothing
to excite peculiar attention. Still he was uneasy. Those he met in
the street kept on telling him that Dr. Parkman would be found in the
Medical College. He felt that he himself was beginning to be suspected
of having some share in the mystery, whilst in his own mind he became
more certain every day that the real solution lay within the walls
of Professor Webster's laboratory. His attention had fixed itself
particularly on the lavatory at the foot of the stairs connecting the
upper and lower laboratories. This room he found to be locked and the
key, a large one, had disappeared. He recollected that when the police
officers had paid their visit to the college, the Professor had
diverted their attention as they were about to inspect this room. The
only method by which, unknown to the Professor and without breaking open
the door, Littlefield could examine the vault of this retiring room was
by going down to the basement floor of the college and digging a hole
through the wall into the vault itself. This he determined to do.
On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, Littlefield commenced operations with
a hatchet and a chisel. Progress was slow, as that evening he had been
invited to attend a festal gathering. On Friday the janitor, before
resuming work, acquainted two of the Professors of the college with
his proposed investigation, and received their sanction. As Webster,
however, was going constantly in and out of his rooms, he could make
little further progress that day. The Professor had come into town early
in the morning.
Before going to the college he purchased some fish-hooks and gave orders
for the making of a strong tin box with firm handles, a foot and a half
square and a little more than a foot in depth; during the rest of the
day he had been busy in his rooms until he left the college about four
o'clock. Not till then was the watchful janitor able to resume his
labours. Armed with a crowbar, he worked vigorously until he succeeded
in penetrating the wall sufficiently to admit a light into the vault of
the lavatory. The first objects which the light revealed to his eyes,
were the pelvis of a man and two parts of a human leg.
Leaving his wife in charge of the remains, Littlefield went immediately
to the house of Professor Bigelow, and informed him of the result of
his search. They returned to the college some twenty minutes later,
accompanied by the City Marshal. The human remains--a pelvis, a thigh
and a leg--were taken out of the vault, and on a further search some
pieces of bone were removed from one of the furnaces in the lower
laboratory. The City Marshal at once dispatched three of his officers to
Cambridge, to the house of Professor Webster.
To his immediate circle of friends and relations the conduct of
the Professor during this eventful week had betrayed no unwonted
discomposure or disturbance of mind. His evenings had been spent either
at the house of friends, or at his own, playing whist, or reading
Milton's "Allegro" and "Penseroso" to his wife and daughters. On Friday
evening, about eight o'clock, as the Professor was saying good-bye to a
friend on the steps of his house at Cambridge, the three police officers
drove up to the door and asked him to accompany them to the Medical
College. It was proposed, they said, to make a further search there that
evening, and his presence was considered advisable. Webster assented
immediately, put on his boots, his hat and coat, and got into the hired
coach. As they drove towards the city, Webster spoke to the officers
of Parkman's disappearance, and suggested that they should stop at the
house of a lady who, he said, could give them some peculiar information
on that subject. As they entered Boston, he remarked that they were
taking the wrong direction for reaching the college. One of the officers
replied that the driver might be "green," but that he would find his
way to the college in time. At length the coach stopped. One of the
officers alighted, and invited his companions to follow him into the
office of the Leverett Street Jail. They obeyed. The Professor asked
what it all meant; he was informed that he must consider himself
in custody, charged with the murder of Dr. George Parkman. Webster,
somewhat taken aback, desired that word should be sent to his family,
but was dissuaded from his purpose for the time being. He was searched,
and among other articles taken from him was a key some four or five
inches long; it was the missing lavatory key. Whilst one of the officers
withdrew to make out a mittimus, the Professor asked one of the others
if they had found Dr. Parkman. The officer begged him not to question
him. "You might tell me something about it," pleaded Webster. "Where did
they find him? Did they find the whole body? Oh, my children! What will
they do? What will they think of me? Where did you get the information?"
The officers asked him if anybody had access to his apartments but
himself. "Nobody," he replied, "but the porter who makes the fire."
Then, after a pause, he exclaimed: "That villain! I am a ruined man."
He was walking up and down wringing his hands, when one of the officers
saw him put one hand into his waistcoat pocket, and raise it to his
lips. A few moments later the unhappy man was seized with violent
spasms. He was unable to stand, and was laid down in one of the cells.
From this distressing state he was roused shortly before eleven, to be
taken to the college. He was quite incapable of walking, and had to be
supported by two of the officers. He was present there while his rooms
were searched; but his state was painful in the extreme. He asked for
water, but trembled so convulsively that he could only snap at the
tumbler like a dog; his limbs were rigid; tears and sweat poured down
his cheeks. On the way back to the jail, one of the officers, moved
by his condition, expressed his pity for him. "Do you pity me? Are you
sorry for me? What for?" asked Webster. "To see you so excited," replied
the officer. "Oh! that's it," said the Professor.
The whole night through the prisoner lay without moving, and not until
the following afternoon were his limbs relaxed sufficiently to allow of
his sitting up. As his condition improved, he grew more confident. "That
is no more Dr. Parkman's body," he said, "than mine. How in the world
it came there I don't know," and he added: "I never liked the looks of
Littlefield the janitor; I opposed his coming there all I could."
In the meantime a further examination of the Professor's rooms on
Saturday had resulted in the discovery, in a tea-chest in the lower
laboratory, of a thorax, the left thigh of a leg, and a hunting knife
embedded in tan and covered over with minerals; some portions of bone
and teeth were found mixed with the slag and cinders of one of the
furnaces; also some fish-hooks and a quantity of twine, the latter
identical with a piece of twine that had been tied round the thigh found
in the chest.
Two days later the Professor furnished unwittingly some additional
evidence against himself. On the Monday evening after his arrest he
wrote from prison to one of his daughters the following letter:
"MY DEAREST MARIANNE,--I wrote Mama yesterday; I had a good sleep last
night, and dreamt of you all. I got my clothes off, for the first time,
and awoke in the morning quite hungry. It was a long time before my
first breakfast from Parker's came; and it was relished, I can assure
you. At one o'clock I was notified that I must appear at the court room.
All was arranged with great regard to my comfort, and went off better
than I had anticipated.
"On my return I had a bit of turkey and rice from Parker's. They send
much more than I can eat, and I have directed the steward to distribute
the surplus to any poor ones here.